bound by an oath of loyalty to Mussolini, the MVSN functioned as a state-funded full-time private army of 30,000 men

provided the Duce with a means of channelling the activism of PNF intransigents & reducing the influence of the provicial Fascist leaders

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The Acerbo Law, 1923

June 1923 - Giacomo Acerbo introduced a bill to permit the party that obtained the most votes in a general election to take two-thirds of the seats in the Chamber, provided it received 25% of the votes cast - other parties would share remaining seats on a proportional basis

Acerbo's reform - designed to secure a Fascist parliamentary majority

July 1923 - Chamber passed the Acerbo bill by 235 votes to 139

menacing presence of Blackshirts during debate affected outcome-but result not simply due to intimidation

most deputies believed that Mussolini was committed to parliamentary gov and 'normalisation'

other MPS either applauded the gov's left-wing line or saw electoral reform as the way to avoid weak coalition ministries

Mussolini held a general election under the Acerbo system in April 1924

the PNF formed an electoral alliance with right-wing liberals including Salandra, and received support from Giolitti's faction

even if he had not ordered the killing, Mussolini was politically and morally responsibile for the death of Matteotti

had established the Cheka and had previously ordered attacks on opponents

shortly before the murder, Mussolini had also expressed his loathing of Matteotti and this would have encouraged the PNF radicals to act

Matteotti's death caused widespread anger and dismay in Italy

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The Matteotti Crisis 1924

Mussolini's political survival depended on the response of the establishment, the parliamentary opposition and the PNF intransigents

the establishment generally overlook the Matteotti affair because they saw no acceptable alternative to Mussolini

Victor Emmanuel feared that Mussolini's dismissal, soon after securing a parliamentary majority, would strengthen the revolutionary Left and trigger a civil war

the Senate, a crucial barometer of elite opinion, endorsed ongoing government 'pacification' measures by 225 votes to 21 in late June

senior army officers registered their support by donating over 100,000 surplus rifles to the MVSN and the Vatican journal Osservatore Romano also backed Mussolini

futhermore, most industrialists accepted politics was often a brutal business and preferred to focus on their profits

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The Matteotti Crisis 1924

Mussolini prudently made concessions and reshuffled his government to cement establishment support

he publically deplored Matteotti's murder, sacked several leading Fascists and brought in people acceptable to the elite, notably the nationalist journalist Luigi Federzoni, who became minister of the interior

The Cheka was dissolved and the militia had to swear allegiance to the king

Creating the Fascist dictatorship

denying any direct involvement in Matteotti's death, he emphasised his government's commitment to 'normalisation' and legal methods

nevertheless, he acccepted sole 'polical, moral and historical responsibility for all that has hapened' and declared that 'if fascism has been a criminal association, then i am the chief of this criminal association'

he railed against the opposition for leaving parliament and condemned the press compaign against the government

Italy, he concluded, required a stronger regime to deal with political opponents and remove the need to unleash the fascist squads

this skilful speech exctricated Mussolini from a difficult position

Fascist radicals, enoucraged by his defence of fascism, assumed that, in future, the government would listen to their views

most of the establishment were reassured too and continued to back Mussolini

they were relieved that the squads would not be used and that state agencies such as the police and the prefects would restore law and order

by taking the initiative, Mussolini - now able to take firm action against political opposition

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Creating the Fascist dictatorship 1925-26

after making this speech, Mussolini closed down some 44 'suspect' organisations, confiscated all illegally held weapons and had about 100 'subversives' arrested

over the next 2 years, Mussolini created a personal dictatorship which developed in apiecemean and improvised way

several factors enabled the PNF leader toestablish one-man rule:

first, by July 1925, the government was exclusively Fascist and could now pursue its objectives with fewer internal contraints

second, the Fascist-dominated Chamber (which had been made more manageable by the walk-out of opposition deputies) compliantly rubber-stamped the repressive decrees that built Mussolini's auuthoritarian system

third, the government tightened press censorship immediately after the 3rd January speech to deprive the anti-fascist parties of their main political weapon

finally, four unsuccessful assassination attempts on Mussolini between November 1925 and October 1926alarmed the king and ordinary Italians, and were used as a pretext to entrench Mussolini's power, undermine opponents and increase repression

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Creating the Fascist dictatorship 1925-26

3 months following the first attempt - November 1925 - several draconian laws were passed which banned secret organisations, made 'anti-government' conduct by public employees a sackable offence and established an official regester of approved journalists

measure arimed at 10,000 anti-fascist exiles, permitted authorities to cancel the citizenship and confiscate the property of any Italian living abroad who 'damaged Italian interests'

2 constitutional amendments also reinforced Mussolini's position

first - December 1925 - changed his official title to Head of the Government and Duce, and abolished parliament's right to remove the prime minister with a no confidence vote

second - January 1926 - allowed the head of the government to make law by decree

Mussolini could now circumvent parliament altogether

other repressive measures followed

political organisations and publications found guilt of 'actions against the regime' were banned, which effectively established a one-party state with a Fascist controlled press

capital punishment was introduced for the attempted assassination of the royal family and the head of the government

the Chamber also excluded the walk-out deputies permanently and banned the PCI

widely criticised for failing to protect the Duce, the interior minister, Federzoni, was removed too

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Winning hearts and minds for the Fascist regime

Fascism and education

once in power, Mussolini's government launched various initiatives and organisations to secure popular support for Fascist rule

the regime's growing control of schools and universities was an important aspect of this drive to instil fascist values

December 1925 - Mussolini instructed schools to educate young Italians to live according to the fascist revolution

his directive was followed by an official purge of 'politically incompatible'teachers

from 1929,primary and secondary school teachers had to take an oath of loyalty to the regime and, by 1933, PNF membership was a condition of employment

a year later, primary school staff were ordered to wear Blackshirt uniforms in the classroom

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Winning hearts and minds for the Fascist regime

Fascism and education

school curriculum became more ideological from the mid 1920s

after banning almost 1/3 of the history books used in schools in 1926, the government introduced a single primary textbook in 1928covering all subjects in an approved manner to encourage conformity

lessons increasinly celebrated theDuce,militarism and imperialism

school curriculum was adapted to reflect the regime's shifting priorities

religous instruction was made compolsory in all secondary schools after Mussolini's 1929 Concordat with the Vatican & as the fascist system became overtly racist in the late 1930s, primary textbooks emphasised Italy's 'civilising mission'

1939 - Guiseppe Bottai - education minister - introduced a school charter - designed to create the new 'fascist man'

due to the outbreak of the Second World War, however, little came of Bottai's plan

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Winning hearts and minds for the Fascist regime

Fascism and education

even though an increasing number of young Italians were educated under the Fascist regime, their efforts to influence schools pupils were only partially successful

many teachers who survived the purge of the profession remained committed to other political beliefs

they simply accommodated themselves to the regime to safequard their own interests

regular ministerial orders and instructions caused much resentment among staff in Italian schools and, as a result, official directives were often carried out with little enthusiasm in the classroom

in rural communities, inadequate teaching resources coupled with high levels of absenteeism and illiteracy due to children undertaking agricultural work, particularly at harvest time, also limited the impact of Fascist educational polocy

over 1/5th of brides in southern Italy in 1936could not sign the marriage register

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Winning hearts and minds for the Fascist regime

Fascism and Education

during 1930s - governments focused on the universities as well

1930 - regime required all rectors and deans have been PNF members for at least 5 years and, in 1931, university profressors were obliged to take an oath of loyalty to the Fascist state

just 11/1250 academics declined

many took the oath to prevent Fascist appointees taking over university posts but the small number of refusalsgaveMussolini a propaganda coup

1933 - allnewprofessors had to be party members

generally speaking though, the universities were not harassed provided they did not engage in anti-Fascists political activity

by the late 1930s - many undergraduates - favourably disposed to the regime - had been indoctrinated to some extent by the school system and the Fascist Youth organisation

Italian youths were probably more attracted by the facilities than the propaganda message but the Batallia certainly boosted the regime

once under party control in 1937, it was renamed GIL and membership bceame compulsory two years later

at that point, GIL had almost 7.9 million members

The GUF was a similar organisation for university students which ran popular athletic and debating competeitions

most joined forsocial or career reasons and the regime tolerated a certain amount of dissent and criticismwithin the GUF because it was created to help nurture and select the next generation of the Fascist elite

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Winning hearts and minds for the Fascist regime

The Opera Nazionale Dopolavoro

Fascist organisation which did most to foster public identification with the regime

national network of subsidised Fascist leisure clubs for public - and private - sector workers

although membership was not compulsory, it became the largest and most active adult organisation

1939 - some 4 million Italians belonged to the OND

manual and non-manual workers joined but they tended to stick with their own class when participating in OND activities

with its emphasis on leisure activities rather than overt indoctrination, the Dopolavoro was a genuinely popular innovation which encouraged general acceptance of fascism

the function and informal class segregation of the OND, however, meant it could neither instil fascism's militaristic values nor foster a real sense of national community

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Winning hearts and minds for the Fascist regime

The Cult of the Duce

Mussolini was a brilliant tactician and opportunist who understood better than his rivals how Italian politics had changed after the First World War

his skill at political manoevering was partly due to a lack of firmly held ehtical and ideological beliefs

consequently, he used institutions and indivuals for as long as they seved his interests

Mussolini's short-term political shrewdness was matched by an ability to communicate effectively through public speeches and the newspapers

throughout his politcal career, however, he remained an insecure and impressionable man who suffered from an inferiority complex

his outward displays of self-confidence and assertivenes were undoubtedly a form of compensation for his inner sense of inadequacy

Mussolini the man could never live up to the propaganda image of the Duce

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Winning hearts and minds for the Fascist regime

The cult of the Duce

at the centre of the regime's efforts to generate popular support was the cult of the Duce which depicted Mussolini as Italy's saviour

posters, films, newspapers, biographies and official statements all conveyed an image of super-human intellectual, physical and sporting abilities

at its peak in the 1930s, duscismo accorded Mussolini semi-divine status and created the myth of the omnipotent and omniscient leader

his supposed infallibility led to the slogan 'Mussolini is always right', which became a mantra for the regime

all this fed the Duce'svanity but it was politically useful too

the cult of the leader elevated him above, and set him apart from, the Fascist system

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Winning hearts and minds for the Fascist regime

The cult of the Duce

brought Mussolini two benefits:

his personal prestige helped to sustain the regime

any problems could be blamed on other Fascists or the government, not him

Duscismo became the main unifying force in Fascist Italy, because Mussolini's personal popularity (which dipped only briefly in the early 1930s due to the economic downturn and disagreements with the pope) generally remained very high until the second world war

outwardly at least, he came almost to accept the cult as proof of his political genius and indispensability

he even had to be consulted about the date when Rome's traffic policecould switch to their summer uniforms!

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Winning hearts and minds for the Fascist regime

Control of the press

journalist and editor - Mussolini knew that a Fascist-controlled press could mobilise public support for the regime

by 1926, all opposition newspapers had been closed down and other publications, either through conviction or coercion, had decided to toe the Fascist line

the dictatorship also ran its own official news agency and onlygovernment-registered journalists were allowed to write

newspapers were expected to give minimal coverage to sensitive topics such as crime and unemployment

fines were imposed for non-compliance, though most editors censored their own publications

Mussolini also contacted editors and newspaper owners privately to ensure that the 'right' events were reported in the appropriate way

from 1934 - the regime tightened press instructions about what to cover and how to depict the dictator

three years later, a Ministry of Popular Cultureassumed control of the newspapers and other media, including radio and the cinema, in a continuing drive to convert the masses to fascism

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Winning hearts and minds for the Fascist regime

Control of the press

yet the state's attempts to use the press as a propaganda outlet were not that successful

fascists newspapers accounted for just 10% of total circulation and some local Fascist publications openly criticised the regime for its lack of radicalism

other journals found ways of discussing controversal topics such as the pros and cons of a settlement with the papacy in 1929

it also proved impossible to stamp out the undergroundanti-fascist press

Italians had access to other sources of information as well, namely the foreign media (newspapers and radio programmes) and tourists

the Fascist press campaign was further hindered by the fact that sections of the population remained functionally illiterate

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Winning hearts and minds for the Fascist regime

Radio and Cinema

After 1924, the regime also used the expanding state-controlled radio network to put iTs political message across through a diet of music, drama, official broadcasts and live speeches from Mussolini

By 1938 about 1 million Italianspossessed a radio, which meant that about 5 million listened to a privately owned set

Many more listened in public, partly because the government supplied schools with radios and the OND held group ‘listening’ meeting

These initiatives helped the Fascists target rural areas and the illiterate

To some extent, cinema – the most popular form of entertainment in Italy in the 1930s – served the same purpose

From 1924 a government agency, Luce produced documentaries and newsreels with some political content which, by law, had to be shown to audiences before the main film

Imported and Italian films were censored by the state, which set out strict guidelines on style and content

A few Italian feature films, including Luciano Serra praised fascism and its achievements

Most films, however, were excapist or historical dramas, and the overwhelming majority of Ialian cinema-goes preferred them to explicit Fascist propaganda

In 1938, US films accounted for about 75% of Italian cinema ticket sales

The most popular feature was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Thus, although Mussolini saw the cinema as ‘the strongest weapon’, it had a limited propaganda impact on the Italian population

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Repression and Terror under the fascist regime

The OVRA

Repression and terror, of course, were also key elements of the regime and tightened Mussolini’s grip on power

November 1926 – a new secret police force, OVRA, was created under Arturo Bocchini, who declared that ascism was to exert ‘a constant but not too conspicuous oppression’

Initially, OVRA was set up to investigate and combat anti-fascist activity but increasingly gathered information, and reported, on all aspects of Italian life

The organisation compiled files on 130,000 potential ‘subversives’, established a network of some 100,000 informants and, by 1930, organised some 20,000 raids each week

However, with only a relatively small full-time staff (around 700 agents in the 1930s), and run by career officials rather than Fascist ideologues, Mussolini’s secret police never rivalled Hitler’s Gestapo of Stalin’s NKVD for repression

OVRA detained some 6000 political opponents (mainly communists or membvers of the non-party andti-fascist revolutionary movement, Justice and Liberty) between 1930 and 1934 - an average of 125 each month 0 but few of them ended up in gaol

on Mussolini's orders, OVRA even spied on sior Fascists Balbo and Farinacci, who found out that they had been palced under surveillance - both men complained but the Duce ignored their protests

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Repression and Terror under the fascist regime

The special tribunal and Confino

a 'Special Tribunal for the Defence of the State', operating under martial law, was also introduced in November 1926 to tackle serious political dissent

1927-43, the Tribunal tried some 21,000 people and imposed gael terms averaging 5 years in 5100 cases

the most prominent victim was the Communist leader Antonio Gramsci, who was given a 20 year prison sentence

also condembed 49 people to death

during the 1930s, the Special Tribunal imprisoned up to 365 anti-fascists annually

from later 1926, political prisoners could also be sent into internal exile (confino) in remote provinces or penal colonies located on islands off the mainland, such as Lipari

some Italians were banished in this way for five years simply because the authorities suspected that they were contemplating action against the regime

confino was spartan, and sometimes brutal, but internal exiles were not compelled to wor, recieved a 10 lire daily allowance and could take their families with them

by 1943, about 14,000 people had been 'confirmed' at some stage under Fascist rule

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Repression and Terror under the fascist regime

The special tribunal and confino

many prominents opponents fled abroad, either to avoid Blackshirt persecution or to protest against the regime

these exiles included the ex-prime minister Nitti, the socialist leader Filippo Turati and the PPI leader Luigi Sturzo

Mussolini denounced those who left Italy as 'outsiders' and Fascist agents tracked down a number of them, such as the Rosselli brothers, and murdered them

evidence of Fascist repression was everywhere

the press and parliament were essentially powerless, telephone calls and the post were monitored, and Italian society was riddled with police informers

at local level, petty-minded and soemtimes vicious fascist officials rules through intimidation and used their positions to settle personal and politcal scores

nevertheless, these repressive eatures did not stifle traditional forms of protest such as land occupations, food price riots and strikes over pay and conditions

anti-fascist humour and graffiti were also widespread

most Italians adopted afascismo - an attitude of passive acceptable of lukewarm conformity - because there appeared to be no alternative to Mussolini's government

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Repression and Terror under the fascist regime

The special tribunal and Confino

Fascism was generally tolerated and the dissent that existed posed no real threat to the regime

still, it was telling that the Duce would neither allow free speech nor disband the militia

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Repression and Terror under the fascist regime

Italian fascism and anti-Semitism

before 1938, anti-semitism had not been an official feature of the Italian Fascist regime

moreover, the 50,000 Jewis living in Italy could not be perceived as a threat or problem because they accounted for just 0.1% of the population

but, some fascists were anti-Semitic and the Duce occasionally criticised the Jews for their beliefs or actions

late 1930s, however - Mussolini's Italy built closer ties with Hitler's Germany, the Fascist government launched an anti-Semitic campaign which was designed to remove the Jews from Italian life

several anti-Semitic decrees were introudced between September 1938 and June 1939, which imposed a variety of restrictions on the Jewish community

as a result of these measures, some 7000 Jews were forced out of the armed services, 181 Jewish teachers and academics were sacked, 400 Jewish state employees lost their jobs, and 5600 students were expelled from schools and universities

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Repression and Terror under the fascist regime

Italian fascism and anti-Semitism

over next 3 years - around 6000 Italian Jews emigrated

many Jewish-owned businesses closed down too

once Italy had entered the Second World War on the side of Germany in 1940, all foreign Jews were interned and several thousand were sent to a concentration camp in Calabria

Italian Jews were conscripted by the government to perform heavy manual tasks

The anti-Semitic laws of 1938-39 were introduced due to:

Mussolini's desire to express solidarity with his ally, Nazi Germany

a hardening of racist and imperialist attitudes following the conquest of Abyssinia

Jewish opposition (e.g. the Rosselli brothers) to the regime

the drive to radicalise and galvanise Fascist Italy during the 1930s in preparation for war

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Conclusion: Consent or Coercion?

Mussolini once famously claimed that the domestic opposition to his regime was limited to just 2000 individuals

this did not mean, however, that the overwhelming majoriyof Italians supported the Fascist dictatorship

certainly, as we have seen, the cult of the Duce and organisations such as the OND helped the regime to achieve a level of popularity and public consent

it is also true that young Italians growing up in the Fascist education and youth systems after 1925 were more susceptible to propaganda and indoctrination

they had no experience of pre-Fascist Italy and their lives were now regimented by Mussolini's government

yet all of these support-building measures and organisations operated in a climate of state repression and coercion which would not allow people to express their views freely and pressured them into activities backed by the regime

understandably, most Italianshad no wish to be arrested by the OVRA, sent before the Special Tribunal or confined, so they conformed rather than actively consented

in this fundamental sense, therefore, coercion was the key element that maintained fascist rule